There are currently five of the Nexgrid electric remote monitors running, according to Town Utilities Director Tim Lawrence. Those meters will serve as the foundation for a pilot program that could eventually lead to dozens of electric and water remote monitors in town if the council is satisfied with how the next few months progress.

“It sounds like we have very little to lose and a lot to potentially gain,” said Williams.

The new meters will allow for an unprecedented level of control and information, according to Nexgrid CEO Costa Apostolakis.

“When you have an outage, you instantly know how many outages you have,” he told the council.

The meters will also show energy consumption in real-time, including a dollars and cents breakdown. The system is relatively flexible and supports General Electric meters as well as nearly any type of water meter, according to Apostolakis.

The system will also be able to locate specific points of energy inefficiency.

The pilot program for the monitors is set to last for six months after which the council can either do nothing, fully upgrade the town or begin a partial upgrade.

“You could add to the system in pieces,” said Lawrence.

From his perspective, the remote monitoring system could be a huge boon to the utilities department, especially during power outages.

“So we don’t have to go searching for where the problem is,” said Lawrence.

If Berlin does decide to stick with Nexgrid, Apostolakis promised that the remote monitoring system will be a good long-term investment.

“This should last upwards of 20 years,” he told the council.

As an added bonus, Apostolakis explained that the entire system is adaptable and Nexgrid has anticipated things like alternate energy and solar becoming more prevalent in the coming decades.

During the pilot program, Town Administrator Tony Carson said that Berlin will seek grants to help fund an eventual full upgrade.

Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) grants will likely be targeted, said Carson.

Featured Stories

OCEAN CITY — The fate of an iconic building on the east side of the Boardwalk is hanging in the balance this week with the heirs to the property preparing an appeal and the city claiming the site for the public good. Situated on the east side of the Boardwalk at South Division Street, the… Read more »

BERLIN – Plans for a bike path along the railroad tracks in Berlin are expected to move forward following approval of a design proposal. On Monday the Berlin Town Council approved a design and engineering proposal for the Berlin Bikeways Project from Davis, Bowen & Friedel (DBF). Dave Engelhart, the town’s planning director, said all… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – Surfers Healing returned to the beaches of Ocean City this week for a day-long surfing camp that gives children with autism and their families a sense of support and community. On Wednesday, 200 children with autism gathered in front of the Castle in the Sand Hotel where they were given the opportunity… Read more »

OCEAN CITY — An uptown Ocean City property with a tragic past will be redeveloped with a mixed-use commercial and residential project after resort planners this week approved the site plan for the long-awaited redevelopment. The Planning Commission on Tuesday approved a site plan for an addition to the UpTown Center along the west side… Read more »